Virtual Eritrea

Last night we went on a little shopping tour through the market area. The atmosphere was very Arabic; the calls for praying ringing in our ears, lots of men in white, long shirts preparing for their praying, donkeys carrying sacks with different gods and a lot of small shops in the market. We did some shopping, but didn't have the courage to discuss prices.

Today is our third day in the school and all of us got so many questions from the pupils.
Here are some examples:
 

Why is Sweden such a so rich country?

How are your relations with  your neighbor countries?

How close to the Bible are the Christians in Sweden?

If I come to Sweden; will I get a job or is there a discrimination against black people?

How can you live in a country that is so cold and dark?

What do you think are the best things with Eritrea?

What are the conditions for Swedish schools in the    school plan?

Do the Swedish students have computers in school?

  David and Fredrik followed a class for three lessons (120 minutes) and then they took a break. They tried to speak with some of the students but they seemed very shy. Then the headmaster wanted them to give a lesson about Sweden without any teacher. It went well. When the lesson was finished David and Fredrik thought that everyone would leave and eat lunch. That was wrong.

They were overwhelmed with questions. Some of the questions were rather difficult to answer. They kept asking questions about Sweden for one hour after their lesson was  finished. Then it was time for lunch.

During the day Ida and Maria went back to the same class as they joined yesterday. The students welcomed them and they sat down next to each other.

But after just a few minutes they changed seats. Ida sat down next to a guy called Berhalne and Maria began talking to Goitom. Both Ida and Maria had great conversation and they shared many thoughts with these two guys. Then there was a break, the students only have one break during the day. Ida, Maria and some more Eritrean students got more time to talk and now Ida and Maria feel like they have got some new friends in a whole different country!!

In the afternoon we got a nice guiding through Keren. Two students from the school were with us. First they showed us a camel market. Ida, David, Mats and Maria got the opportunity to ride the camels. That was great! When we had had enough of the camels we went on to the holy bao bao tree that was so big that you could go inside and look at the statue of Virgin  Maria. On the way we saw a lot of Eritrean people and lots of kids said hello to us. We also saw new plantations everywhere. The Eritreans are very anxious about getting their country to be a greener and better place.  In the end of the walk we saw a long queue with  laughing and fighting children. That was the milk queue. This was the only place you could buy milk. The two boys from the school who guided us were very helpful and answered our difficult questions. Without them we couldn't have made that trip.
 
Later in the evening the headmaster of the school wanted a little celebration. So, he invited some teachers from the school, some students and us for a dinner in a good restaurant. It was very nice. In the end of the dinner we all got very  nice presents from the school. Kerstin got a silver necklace in Arabic style, Mats got a traditional sword that is only given to a mature, married man that also is a hero, Ida and Maria got nice Eritrean leather bags and David and Fredrik got a national dress, a long white shirt that the Muslims wear. We had a good time and we think that this was a good way of  ending our visit in Keren.

Greetings from Mats, Kerstin, Ida, Maria, Fredrik and David